The Dustin Ford Era

[Let'sGoZips94]

Barre 6'10"

Burton 6'10"

Christion 6'9"

Hammer Jr 6'7"

MMK 6'6"

White 6'6"

Pence 6'6"

Halligan 6'5"

Henderson 6'5"

Jones 6'5"

Head 6'3"

Staveskie 6'1"

Wilson 6'1"

Perkins 6'0"

 

Average height is 6'4".

 

Last year's average height for the 9 main contributors: 6'3" (this is with Tavari and Sharron listed at 6'0" according to ESPN.com).

 

It may not seem like much but that 1"+ is a big deal. This year's Sweet 16 featured an average contributing roster height of 6'5" - the tallest Sweet 16 ever. Akron was almost 3 inches shorter on average vs the standard of teams we strive to compete with. 

 

Better yet, this roster is more versatile in their skill sets. As much as Hardman saved our butt at times last season, he was largely a one-trick pony. I'm not seeing anybody like that on this roster at this point in time. 

 

Safe to say I'm excited. 

[kreed5120]

I feel some are fixated on positions, but the Zips will be playing a lot of positionless basketball next year so a depth chart is meaningless. This is how I imagine the starting 5 will play out.

 

Steveskie

Wilson/Head

White

Pence

Burton/Barre/MMK

 

Steveskie, White, and Pence I will pencil in as starters. The other 2 starters I think will be position battles.

 

Edit: If Hammer has a strong offseason and develops I won't rule out the possibility he starts. In that scenario it becomes possible White/Head are bumbed from the starting lineup.

Edited 21 hours ago by kreed5120

[ZipsFan31]

Agree it is Steveskie, Pence and White are on paper the top 3 offensive options. I am big fan of Wilson, Henderson, and Burton, being under the radar top options. 
 

We are positionless and deep. Hopefully 1 or 2 guys step up as Alpha options and a pecking order develops. As there is no clear leader. 

[Zippy87]

Staveskie and Burton were the only players who started all year for the previous teams. Pence began the season as a starter, but came off the bench for the final 13 games (he did play well). Hammer Jr. (14.2 MPG) and White (8.7 MPG) played but not significant minutes.  Wilson redshirted. 

 

We won't have many proven commodities to start the season, but there's plenty of talent and opportunity to show that talent. 

[Let'sGoZips94]

9 hours ago, ZipsFan31 said:

Agree it is Steveskie, Pence and White are on paper the top 3 offensive options. I am big fan of Wilson, Henderson, and Burton, being under the radar top options. 
 

We are positionless and deep. Hopefully 1 or 2 guys step up as Alpha options and a pecking order develops. As there is no clear leader. 

 

Don't rule out Head as well. He was a near double digit scorer at Lipscomb as a freshman and has good size at 6'3".

Edited 11 hours ago by Let'sGoZips94

[roopride]

Need scholarship chart updated.    Please add their heigth

[Zippy87]

I definitely expect a step back this season, but I expected one had Groce stayed, too. Tavari, Shammah, and Amani are all really tough to replace. With that said, I do think this team can be competitive in the conference, if for no other reason than I believe in Coach Ford. 

[clarkwgriswold]

5 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:

I definitely expect a step back this season, but I expected one had Groce stayed, too. Tavari, Shammah, and Amani are all really tough to replace. With that said, I do think this team can be competitive in the conference, if for no other reason than I believe in Coach Ford. 

 

I think we also need to equally keep in mind that some of the other MAC programs are catching up.  Even without a decline in the Zips program, the competition is getting closer as they learn and adapt to the NIL era, an area where UA was in the forefront and got a head start on the rest of the MAC. 

[zippy5]

21 minutes ago, roopride said:

Need scholarship chart updated.    Please add their heigth

Illini Zip graciously updates this for us in his spare time, but he doesn't owe any of us anything 

[AkronAlumnus]

Sizable step back next season IMO

[roopride]

Agreed and appreciate Illini ZIP's efforts and forum content!!!

[Let'sGoZips94]

35 minutes ago, AkronAlumnus said:

Sizable step back next season IMO

 

There's irony in getting significantly taller but using "sizable" as the adverb for your step back prediction. 

 

Not sure how you're coming to that conclusion as well. 

[AkronAlumnus]

Just now, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

There's irony in getting significantly taller but using "sizable" as the adverb for your step back prediction. 

 

Not sure how you're coming to that conclusion as well. 

I’m just not seeing how this roster stacks up to last year’s.  Yeah, we’re taller, but that doesn’t really mean much by itself—there’s a lot more to winning than just size.  

 

We’re taking a step back at PG, SF, and center, and it’s not like we replaced that production with proven guys.  Right now it feels more like we’re filling in with mid-major bench pieces instead of legit difference-makers. 

 

If last year’s team played this one, I think last year’s group wins pretty comfortably.

[kreed5120]

14 minutes ago, AkronAlumnus said:

I’m just not seeing how this roster stacks up to last year’s.  Yeah, we’re taller, but that doesn’t really mean much by itself—there’s a lot more to winning than just size.  

 

We’re taking a step back at PG, SF, and center, and it’s not like we replaced that production with proven guys.  Right now it feels more like we’re filling in with mid-major bench pieces instead of legit difference-makers. 

 

If last year’s team played this one, I think last year’s group wins pretty comfortably.

 

We're taking a step back at PG and C. Not really sure how you can say SF. That's where Halligan started last year and I would think Pence/White would make it an upgrade. Not to mention Halligan is probably going to improve and it's TBD what we get out of Henderson. Wing is the one position that we clearly look better and deeper at.

 

IMO we will be a worse team offensively, but a better team defensively. I doubt we'll finish a top 60 team in NET like we did last and will probably start the season off slow as it will take time to work out rotations and for players to get familiarity. I still think we can be a borderline top 100 team, which is good enough to win the MAC both regular season and MAC tournament.

[AkronAlumnus]

Just now, kreed5120 said:

 

We're taking a step back at PG and C. Not really sure how you can say SF. That's where Halligan started last year and I would think Pence/White would make it an upgrade. Not to mention Halligan is probably going to improve and it's TBD what we get out of Henderson. Wing is the one position that we clearly look better and deeper at.

 

IMO we will be a worse team offensively, but a better team defensively. I doubt we'll finish a top 60 team in NET like we did last and will probably start the season off slow as it will take time to work out rotations and for players to get familiarity. I still think we can be a borderline top 100 team, which is good enough to win the MAC both regular season and MAC tournament.

Ahh I thought Halligan played the four last year and Mahaffey was the three - drop off at PF then.  I see us more around the top 150 but I really hope I'm wrong and this is the best Zips team of all time.  I just don't see it right now. 

[kreed5120]

10 minutes ago, AkronAlumnus said:

Ahh I thought Halligan played the four last year and Mahaffey was the three - drop off at PF then.  I see us more around the top 150 but I really hope I'm wrong and this is the best Zips team of all time.  I just don't see it right now. 

 

You have to remember coming into this last season Amani Lyles was just a mid-major bench piece that was promoted to starter. He was coming off a 7.6 ppg, 5.2 rebounds/game season. Nobody was predicting he would make an All-MAC team, let alone make 1st team All-MAC. Every season there has been at least 1 player that has dramatically improved YoY. It would seem odd to not believe someone won't achieve the same this coming season (not necessarily 1st team all MAC). The question is just who.

Edited 6 hours ago by kreed5120

[AkronAlumnus]

Just now, kreed5120 said:

 

You have to remember coming into this last season Amani Lyles was just a mid-major bench piece that was promoted to starter. He was coming off a 7.6 ppg, 5.2 rebounds/game season. Nobody was predicting he would make an All-MAC team, let alone make 1st team All-MAC. Every season there has been at least 1 player that has dramatically improved YoY. It would seem odd to not believe someone won't achieve the same this coming season (not necessarily 1st team all MAC). The question is just who.

Amani is somewhat unique and an anomaly, he played behind an NBA draft pick and learned a lot there but he was still averaging 18 minutes and 8 points.  That's tied for or more production than most of the incoming guys.  The better analogy would be comparing incoming transfers to Amani's 23-24 season.

[kreed5120]

3 minutes ago, AkronAlumnus said:

he played behind an NBA draft pick

 

Who had 0 scholarship offers and was a former walk on. Someone who credits Ford and his staff with his development. Just another example of showing how effective this Zips staff has been at developing players and unlocking potential.

[Let'sGoZips94]

1 hour ago, AkronAlumnus said:

I’m just not seeing how this roster stacks up to last year’s.  Yeah, we’re taller, but that doesn’t really mean much by itself—there’s a lot more to winning than just size.  

 

We’re taking a step back at PG, SF, and center, and it’s not like we replaced that production with proven guys.  Right now it feels more like we’re filling in with mid-major bench pieces instead of legit difference-makers. 

 

If last year’s team played this one, I think last year’s group wins pretty comfortably.

 

I'm not sure Tavari to Tahj is a drop off. Tavari averaged 19.7ppg but also took the most shots for a player in the MAC. He averaged 5agp and shot 37.3% from 3P. Tahj averaged 17.3ppg and averaged half a shot less per game than Tavari. He averaged 4.1agp on a worse team (who knows how many assists he would've had with better shooters around him) and also shot 37.3% from 3P. We're picking up 2-3 inches at that position which is huge considering how many shots Tavari had blocked/altered. 

 

We've improved at SF IMO. Pence/White/Hammer/MMK most likely isn't a drop off and is certainly deeper.

 

C is absolutely improved. We had Evan Mahaffey playing out of position at C 90% of the time last year and Amani disappeared completely at times. They were undersized in 99% of the matchups. We have 2 6'10" PF/C's and can flex MMK/White/Hammer/Pence as a PF/C as a luxury instead of a necessity.  

 

 

I don't want to rip last year's squad but personnel wise, we weren't built for how Groce wanted to play. This team is much more malleable/matchup proof. It's going to come down to execution. I don't know how anyone can say we're definitively going to be worse.

Edited 5 hours ago by Let'sGoZips94

[AkronAlumnus]

Just now, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

I'm not sure Tavari to Tahj is a drop off. 

That's an insult to TJ, he should have been MAC POY last year.  Tahj was good at IW but wasn't even all-conference. 

 

 I agree w/ SF as I thought that was Mahaffey but definitely not center 

[kreed5120]

57 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

I'm not sure Tavari to Tahj is a drop off. Tavari averaged 19.7ppg but also took the most shots for a player in the MAC. He averaged 5agp and shot 37.3% from 3P. Tahj averaged 17.3ppg and averaged half a shot less per game than Tavari. He averaged 4.1agp on a worse team (who knows how many assists he would've had with better shooters around him) and also shot 37.3% from 3P. We're picking up 2-3 inches at that position which is huge considering how many shots Tavari had blocked/altered. 

 

It's not just TJ, but also Scott and Young. Young is very replaceable, but it will be a challenge to replace TJ and Scott at the guard position. Not saying it's impossible. Just pointing out it's more than just TJ that needs replaced. 

[RoyalBlu]

Personally speaking, every top tier MAC team from last season is in some form of major transition at two or more positions. To start the season, bet on experienced coaching. The talent on the well-coached teams will flourish the second half of the season.

 

The MAC schedule changes dramatically, a complete round-robin, so by Valentines Day the standings should be interesting ... yet still in a state of flux. Talent and good coaching down the stretch will show up well into the MAC Tournament.

 

[Let'sGoZips94]

3 hours ago, AkronAlumnus said:

That's an insult to TJ, he should have been MAC POY last year. Tahj was good at IW but wasn't even all-conference. 

 

 I agree w/ SF as I thought that was Mahaffey but definitely not center 

 

I used to think that, but diving into the stats - especially his shooting volume - has changed my tune. Not to mention his 4 pts in the NCAAT was rough. Very much appreciate everything he did for the program, but the reality of his impact is a little overblown. He was much better at the being of the season than the end. 

 

How do you not agree we're better at center?

 

2 hours ago, kreed5120 said:

 

It's not just TJ, but also Scott and Young. Young is very replaceable, but it will be a challenge to replace TJ and Scott at the guard position. Not saying it's impossible. Just pointing out it's more than just TJ that needs replaced. 

 

Young was replaced. 

 

Shammah was always going to be tough to replace because in addition to nearly 13ppg, he had the clutch gene and mental fortitude to step up in big moments. We shall see if anyone can fill those shoes.

 

 

Our guards were recreated in the aggregate, to steal from Moneyball. The sum of our guards shouldn't be much of a drop off if any, and the improvement will be seen in the front court. 

Edited 2 hours ago by Let'sGoZips94

[kreed5120]

10 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

How do you not agree we're better at center?

 

I am actually with you here. I think Amani is better than any C we have on the roster currently, but our production outside of him was very minimal to non-existent. We got 25 minutes of good to great C play then 15 minutes of pretty bad play.

 

Theoretically Barre/MMK (I expect both to improve), Burton, and even Hammer (all of who I expect to see play minutes at the 5) should give us more depth in the front court. Also, gives us more versatility to adjust our style of play depending on the opponent. We can play Barre if we want to get bigger. We can play Hammer if we want to push the tempo. Burton something in-between both. I would expect more consistent 40 minutes out of our C even though none of them are probably getting All-MAC honors.

[1981 grad]

Did Hardman sign with another team?